Recipe #22 - Football Food: Pumpkin Pie Dip

This past weekend I invited some family & friends over to the house to watch the Bears game. (Go Bears!) It was a great opportunity to try out a few recipes I had been eyeing on Pinterest.The spread included turkey sloppy joe sliders, veggie pizza & buffalo chicken dip, but the star of the show was the pumpkin pie dip for sure.

Recipe inspired by www.sixsistersstuff.com Pumpkin Pie Dip

Ingredients

• 15 oz can pure pumpkin
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 6 oz vanilla greek yogurt (original recipe calls for plain fat-free, but I thought the vanilla flavor would give it more taste)
• 8 oz fat free Cool Whip
• Mini vanilla waffers and sliced apples or any other tasty sweet crackers or fruit of your choice.

Directions
Mix pumpkin with brown sugar, vanilla and spices, blend well. Mix in yogurt. Fold in Cool Whip and chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Results
Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! Very light, not too sweet and absolutely delicious. :) One word of caution, this makes A LOT of the dip. I probably had enough to fill the bowl shown about 2-3 times. I would recommend making half of the recipe.

Recipe #24 - Football Food: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Q: What is the perfect compliment to a Sunday Bears football game?
A: Buffalo Chicken Dip!

Straight from the recipe on the back of the Frank's Original Red Hot Sauce.

Ingredients

• 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing (I used Light Ranch dressing instead)
• 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• 1/2 cup cumbled blue cheese
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken (I used 1 large can of white chunk chicken)
• Carrot sticks, celery and chips for dipping

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese into deep dish.Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bake for 20 min until hot. Stir. Enjoy!

Results
As you can see, I tried to be creative and make the laces of a football using some Frank's Red Hot Sauce drizzled on top of the mix. Doesn't exactly look like a football, but it was worth a shot. "A" for effort. :) The dip was delicious!! I made a double batch and there was hardly any left at the end of the day.

For more football food recipes, check out pumpkin pie dip and veggie pizza.

Recipe #23 - Football Food: Veggie Pizza

My husband's aunt makes a really great veggie pizza when we are up at the lake house. I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try!

Recipe inspired by www.breakfast-and-brunch-recipes.com Veggie Pizza for Brunch

Ingredients

• 2 8oz cans reduced fat crescent rolls
• 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
• 3 TBSP mayonnaise
• 3 cups chopped mixed vegetables (I used pre-chopped tri-color peppers and sliced green and black olives)
• 1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a 10" x 15" baking pan with the crescent roll dough, pressing the edges and perforations together.
• Place in the oven and bake the crust according to the instructions on the package. Cool to room temperature.
• In a medium size bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.Add the sour cream, ranch salad dressing mix and mayonnaise. Mix well.
• Spread the mixture over the cooled crust. Sprinkle with chopped vegetables and cheese. Cut into squares. Enjoy!

Results
Yum!! The only thing I would change is I would use less of the ranch salad dressing mix.That flavor was a bit strong, but other than that, delicious!! :)

For more football food recipes, check out pumpkin pie dip & buffalo chicken dip.

Recipe #21 - Sausage & Egg Bake

We love to eat breakfast burritos for dinner (tortillas, eggs, sausage, hashbrowns & cheese), but it takes 3 pans to make and as good as they taste, I hate to clean up afterwards. I decided an egg bake might be a good alternative with relatively the same ingredients/result with less cleanup.

Recipe inspired by www.culinary.net Weekend Brunch Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 8 ounce can refrigerated seamless dough sheet (you can also use 1 8oz can of crescent rolls if you don't have the seamless dough sheet --> you can get reduced fat crescent rolls, but I haven't found a reduced fat seamless sheet yet)
• 1 pound reduced-fat sausage
• 2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese (original recipe calls for mozzarella, but I like cheddar better)
• 5 eggs, beaten (org. recipe calls for 4 eggs, but I like more eggs in an egg bake)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Cook and crumble sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat according to package instructions. Drain.
• Line bottom of a greased 13x9 inch baking dish with the dough.
• Sprinkle dough with sausage & cheese.
• Combine remaining ingredients in mixing bowl until well blended. Pour mixture over the sausage and cheese.
• Bake 15 minutes or until set. (It took mine about 20+ minutes.) Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares.
• Serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers. Enjoy!

Results

• Delicious! I would absolutely make this again. Very easy and less cleanup!!
• If you can see in the picture, the seamless crust was too large for my baking dish. I learned that my new favorite bluish purple large baking dish from Crate & Barrel is in fact NOT a 13x9 inch baking dish. I thought it was -- OOPS! :) Next time I will either just cut the crust to fit the pan or find a bigger dish. The crust on top burned and did not taste good.

Quick&Easy Recipe - Rotisserie Chicken Nachos

My husband and I love the chicken nachos from Miller's Ale House. I make nachos (cheese & chips) all the time for us, so adding chicken was a logical and easy addition. I always pass those rotisserie chickens in the grocery store and thought this might be the perfect time to try one for the meat for our chicken nachos! The plan worked out brilliantly! This recipe was quick, easy & delicious!!

I pulled all the meat off the bones and placed it into a container with a lid. We will have plenty of chicken this week for either more nachos or other chicken dishes. After placing the chicken & cheese on the nachos, I placed them in the microwave for 45 seconds until all the cheese was melted.

This is just the base. You can add whatever toppings/veggies/sauces you would like to make it the perfect snack or meal. On Saturday, I made some guacamole to have with the nachos. My guac is simple: 1 avocado mashed up, about 1/4 tsp each of salt, pepper, onion powder & garlic powder. Add more or less to taste. I also make easy guac by mashing up 1 avocado and adding about 1-2 TBSP of salsa. Good stuff!

Quick&Easy Recipe - York Peppermint Brownies

I saw something on Pinterest too incredible not to try...York Peppermint Brownies from www.sugardishme.com. I made them this morning for a Sunday Football treat. So easy & so delicious!!

All you have to do is take 1 box of brownie mix and add to it whatever it calls for (eggs, oil, water, etc.). I used Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix. It is amazing on its own but when you add York Peppermint Patties - it somehow makes it even better!! You pour half of the brownie mix in a 8x8 or 9x9 dish. Then, place the patties side by side until they cover the 1st layer of brownie mix. Finally, poor the remaining brownie batter over the peppermint patties. Bake the brownies according to the directions on the box. Enjoy!!

My husband doesn't like the mint/chocolate combo, so I can't give you a second opinion, but I believe these are absolutely amazing!

One variation I might try for the future would be to use Junior Mints instead of the York Peppermint Patties so that you get smaller bites of peppermint throughout the brownies.

Recipe #20 - French bread pizza

I debated on whether or not this is a "Quick&Easy" recipe or just a regular new recipe. I am counting it as a new recipe as I have not made it before and I feel like someone once said if it takes more than 3 ingredients, then you are cooking vs. putting something together, so I am going to go with that.


This picture shows half of a half loaf. Left side = plain cheese. Right side = sausage & cheese.

Ingredients
1 large French bread loaf
Pizza sauce
Mozzerella cheese
Sausage
Pepperoni
Italian Seasoning

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut bread loaf in half and then cut it to split it open (as if you were going to make a sandwich).
3. Spread pizza sauce on top of the bread. Then you can put the toppings on the bottom and the cheese on top or cheese on bottom and toppings on top.
4. Place the French bread pizzas in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
5. When the cheese has melted all of the way, pull the pizza out of the oven and sprinkle Italian seasoning over the entire thing. Enjoy!

Half of the loaf. Sausage & Pepperoni.

Results
WOW! This was incredible! I am not sure if we were just hungry or if it was really this good, but this was amazing, and I will absolutely make this again!

Recipe #19 - Blue Cheese Turkey Burger

My husband went to the meat shop (is there another word for that?) a couple of weeks ago and brought home some AMAZING blue cheese burgers. Given our desire to try to eat a little bit healthier, I decided I would try to make some blue cheese TURKEY burgers and see how they taste. :)

Ingredients
1 lb Jennie-O Ground Turkey
1-2 ounces blue cheese crumbles
1 tsp Worchestire sauce
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions
1. Mix all of the ingredients together by hand.
2. Divide the meat mixture into 4 even sections. Form each section with your hands into patties. I like to make mine as this as thin and uniform as possible to help decrease the cook time and so that they cook evenly.
2. I used the stove to cook our burgers, but you can use the grill as well of course. On the stove, I pre-heated the pan over medium-high heat. Place the patties in the pan.
3. Cook the patties until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees (about 10 minutes). Flip the patties over once or twice during cooking. Enjoy!

Results
Really flavorful! I used to make turkey burgers more, but they had NO taste. I would just load them up with cheese and toppings, which negated the healthy reason I was trying to make turkey burgers in the first place. I literally just placed one of the patties on a bun and ate it with just the bread, no toppings. So good! I will definitely make these again!

Recipe #18 - Chicken Taco Bake

Since neither my husband nor I had a taste for anything for dinner yesterday, I stopped by the grocery store on the way home from work, hoping to find something good to make. When I got to the store, I had the overwhelming craving for my mom's chicken tacos, but I didn't really have time to cook/shred the chicken, so I improvised - canned chicken. I know some people are not big fans of canned chicken (it's not my favorite either) but I have found when you mix it with salsa, for some reason I am ok with it. 

Ingredients
2 cans (the big ones) of Swansons premium chunk chicken
1/2 cup salsa
8 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Kraft Mexican blend cheese
Salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Drain the cans of chicken and put the chicken in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. The chicken is already cooked, but I like to mix everything together over heat before putting it in the tortillas.
3. Add the half cup of salsa to the chicken and stir. You can use whatever kind of salsa you would like. I used Old El Paso medium. You can also use as much or as little salsa as you would like to taste.
4. Add your seasonings. I added salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and dried cilantro. I think the chiken in a can doesn't have a whole lot of flavor, so I tried to add some flavor with these spices and seasonings. I would say I added no more than 1 tsp of each but it was really just a pinch of this and that.
5. Once the chicken mixture is mixed together and heated through, place a decent amount of mixture in the middle of a corn tortilla. Wrap the tortilla around the mixture and place the "open" side of the tortilla down to keep it together. Repeat this until you have used all of the tortillas and mixture placing each rolled tortilla side by side. You can use more or less tortillas depending on how much mixture you want in each taco.
6. Pour all 2 cups of cheese over the top of the tacos and place the dish in the oven.
7. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted nicely on top. Enjoy!

Results
I loved this. My husband did not think it was as great. He ate it, but probably not his favorite meal. I did mash up an avocado and made some guacamole to enjoy with my tacos. That probably made a HUGE difference as I LOVE avocado and all meals that I can have with avocado. My husband does not like avocado. I will put this meal on the list of foods to make when my husband is traveling for work and won't be home. :)

Quick&Easy Recipe - Kraft Fresh Take

It occurred to me today while making dinner that while I have not made a new "homemade/made from scratch type" recipe every week, I have tried a few new quick and easy, semi-homemade recipes that I could share in case anyone else dreads the question as much as I do, "what are we having for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack/brunch/linner/etc." :)

On the menu tonight - Kraft Fresh Take

We tried the Southwest Three Cheese flavor a couple of months ago and LOVED it, so I decided to try another flavor (and by "decided" I mean they were out of the Southwest flavor, so I was forced to try a new one). :) Maybe the secret is already out around here that this stuff is AWESOME!

This is SO easy! I purchased one package of the thin chicken breasts (about 1lb). You open the Kraft package and mix the cheese/crumbs together. Then wet the chicken (I used one egg as suggested to dip the chicken in). Finally dip the wet chicken in the pouch and place it in a greased pan and stick it in the oven! 30 minutes later I prayed that the chicken had reached the recommended internal temperature (165 degrees). When the meat thermometer read 170, I cut one piece open just to make sure it wasn't pink. (I don't have the best history with meat cooking to the right temperature in the oven in the recommended time for some reason.) No pink on the inside, good to go!

Kraft Fresh Take chicken and Skinnygirl Pina Colada w/pineapple juice

You may notice an adult beverage in the picture. For those of you that know me well, you know I drink socially at events and while I am traveling for work but I RARELY drink at home. My husband is the same way. However, recently, we heard one alcoholic drink a night is "good" for you. It doesn't even have to be red wine now according to the new research. Sold! We are trying to have one adult beverage in the evening. This is night #1 of this experiment. :) My beverage of choice this evening - a Skinnygirl cocktail. I love Bethenny Frankel! I tried the Skinnygirl Margarita a long time ago and thought it was rather strong for me (again, reference above, I am a lightweight) but thought I would give some of her new drinks a try. Knowing I might think it was strong for me, I thought mixing the Pina Colada with pineapple juice would be tasty....and I was RIGHT! Yum! :) My formula - 1 part Skinnygirl Pina Colada to 2 parts pineapple juice.

Results:  D E L I C I O U S!! My husband and I both loved this chicken. This Kraft Fresh Take makes me look like a gourmet chef (or at least better than a novice). :) We will definitely be trying the other flavors.

Recipe #15-17 Labor Day Weekend

So...it's been awhile (a few months actually) but I finally had some free time to try out some new recipes this Labor Day weekend! I made homemade taco seasoning, haystacks and one of my favorites -- Queso Fundido!!

First the good stuff...Recipe #15 Queso Fundido a la Nelson :)

It is something I was first introduced to while studying abroad in Monterrey, Mexico! I could not get enough of this stuff (served with homemade flour tortillas.) Yum! The "authentic" queso fundido is made with queso chihuahua and chorizo. Queso Fundido a la Nelson is made with the cheese I could find in my predominately non-Hispanic western suburb of Chicago grocery store and Jimmy Dean sausage. This Midwest Mexican (as I refer to my half white/half Mexican self) is happy to try whatever is available to me if it will come even remotely close to tasting like one of my favorite foods.

Ingredients
Batch #1
1/2 package Reduced Fat Jimmy Dean Sausage
1 package (10oz I believe) Cacique Queso Quesadilla (it was the only "Mexican melting cheese" the lady assisting me could find)

Batch #2
1/2 package Reduced Fat Jimmy Dean Sausage
2 cups shredded Queso Chihuahua with seasonings (I checked one other part of the store and found Queso Chihuahua but it was shredded instead of in a cube and had seasonsings, but given what I was making, I figured it was ok.)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cook the sausage according to the package.
3. If your cheese is in a solid cube/circle/square, cut it into 1 inch pieces. Line the bottom of a 7x11 baking dish with the cheese. If it is shredded, you can just spread it out evenly in the dish.
4. Place the cooked sausage on top of the cheese and spread evenly throughout the dish. (I only used half and then refridgerated the remaining for the second batch.)
5. Place the dish in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is all melted and bubbly.
6. Enjoy with tortilla chips, fritos or corn or flour tortillas!

Results
Delicious!!! I personally liked the second batch better, but my husband liked the first batch. So, the conclusion is you can make great queso fundido with various "Mexican melting cheeses" and sausages whether it be chorizo or Jimmy Dean. :) I will definitely be making this again. It will probably become a regular during football season!

Recipe #16 - Haystacks
This is one of my husband's favorite desserts. Given his birthday was last week, I figured I should make him a batch. There are SEVERAL recipes out on the internet. I checked out a few and then simplified it to 3 ingredients.

Ingredients
1 package chow mein noodles (about 6 cups)
1 11oz package of butterscotch chips
1 cup of peanuts

Directions
1. Melt the butterscotch chips in a microwave safe bowl. I put them in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each time until they were all the way melted.
2. I then threw all of the noodles and nuts into the bowl of melted butterscotch and mixed until everything was well coated.
3. Spoon the mixture in little clumps (heaping TBSP size) onto cookie sheets. It took me two cookie sheets to use all of the mixture.
4. Place the cookie sheets with the haystacks into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Enjoy!
5. Store the leftover haystacks in the refrigerator.

Results
Yum!! They were so good that we ate them all during the weekend before I remembered to take any pictures! This will also be a recipe that will be repeated several times in our house.

Recipe #17 - Homemade Taco Seasoning

Going back to the roots of this blog, I learned on Pinterest that the store bought taco seasoning I have been using almost every single week is probably not the healthiest thing I could be serving my family. I decided to try one of the homemade taco seasoning recipes posted on Pinterest.

Recipe inspired by Homemade Taco Seasoning - Do It Yourself from www.wholenewmom.com.

Ingredients
2 TBSP chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 TBSP cumin
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Original recipe also calls for 1tsp paprika and 1/2 tsp oregano, but I didn't have those in my cupboard, so I omitted them.

Directions
1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Cook meat (I used Jennie-O ground turkey) per package instructions.
3. For every 1lb of meat, use 2 TBSP of seasoning mix and 3/4 cup of water. Once the meat is cooked, add the seasoning mix & water to the pan with the meat.
4. Let the meat mixture simmer until some of the water evaporates and it is the saucy consistency that you desire.
5. Enjoy the meat mixture with taco shells or on nachos (as my husband did) or in a taco salad (like I did)!

Results
It didn't taste exactly like the stuff I buy from the store, but it was definitely a good alternative. It was a little bit spicy for my taste, so I would play around with the ratio of the spices next time. There are several other recipes for homemade taco seasoning out on Pinterest and the web in general. I will keep trying combinations until I find my favorite one!